MasterChef Junior, averaging a 1.4 rating with adults 18-49 and 4 million viewers, has not won its 8 p.m. hour outright since early October. Its live-plus-7 score, however, shoots up 50 percent to a 2.1 rating in the demo. That puts it ahead of dominant time slot competitor Undercover Boss, which only rises 20 percent to a 1.8 rating after a week of DVR, as well as ABC comedies Last Man Standing (1.9 adults) and Neighbors (1.3 adults) and NBC's varied offerings in the hour.

Among unscripted series, MasterChefJunior is technically outpaced in percentage growth by America's Next Top Model -- the modest CW veteran jumps 75 percent to just a 0.7 adults rating -- but it scores a decisive victory on the Big Four. Its closest competition, Shark Tank, is rising 32 percent to a 2.5 in the demo.

No official decision has come down on a renewal, but after the Nov. 8 finale, a second season is looking very likely. Fox has yet to put the breaks on a Ramsay series. The original MasterChef scored a two-season renewal earlier this year, Hell's Kitchen has also been picked up, and new runs of Hotel Hell and Kitchen Nightmares are both on tap.